National Sleep Foundation

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Chapter 6: Parasomnias

Catathrenia (Sleep-related Groaning)

Catathrenia, or sleep-related groaning, is a chronic groaning that occurs when the person is sleeping. It usually happens every night, and mainly occurs in the second half of the night, during later REM sleep cycles.1 The groaning or moaning sounds are usually clustered and occur within a long period of expiration (2-50 seconds) subsequent to a deep inspiration. No association between sleep-related groaning and respiratory or psychological disorders has been found.2 There is no known effective treatment for catathrenia.3
The International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD) lists catathrenia as a Sleep-Related Breathing Disorder (SRBD), under Isolated Symptoms and Normal Variants, because it appears “to be associated with prolonged expiration, usually during REM sleep. However, some studies have documented catathrenia during Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep.”4